Plate material mounting structure

ABSTRACT

A plate material mounting structure includes a mounting frame, the mounting frame having a coupling unit extended sideways from one lateral sidewall thereof, the coupling unit having a horizontal top bearing wall, a horizontal bottom support wall, the horizontal top bearing wall having a downwardly extended front stop flange defining with the horizontal bottom support wall a coupling channel, a first plate material, a second plate material, and at least one retaining device fastened to the coupling unit to secure the first plate material to the lateral side wall of the mounting frame above the horizontal top bearing wall and the second plate material to the lateral side wall of the mounting frame below the horizontal support wall, the retaining device having a coupling rod extended from a back sidewall thereof and inserted in between the first plate material and the second plate material and hooked in the coupling channel of the mounting frame, the coupling rod having a guide head turned sideways and adapted to hook up with the downwardly extended front stop flange of the coupling unit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of The Invention:

[0002] The present invention relates to constructions and, more specifically, to a plate material mounting structure.

[0003] 2. Description of Related Art:

[0004] Various plate material mounting designs have been disclosed, and are intensively used in partition wall construction. Conventionally, coupling plates or hook plates are used with screws to fasten plate materials to partition ribs.

[0005] However, this method of using coupling plates or hook plates with screws is not applicable to certain construction materials such as glass plates, bricks, or stone plates. FIGS. 1A and 1B show a plate material mounting structure according to the prior art. According to this design, ribs A and B are intersected with one another, and plate material, for example, glass plates C, are fastened to the ribs A and B. The ribs A and B each have a longitudinal mounting groove D1 or D2 and two packing strips H arranged along the longitudinal mounting groove D1 or D2 at two sides. A holding down plate F is fastened to two inserted ribs A and B to hold down four glass plates C. The holding down plate F comprises four pins E respectively engaged into the longitudinal mounting grooves D1 and D2 of the ribs A and B, and a center countersunk hole through which a screw G is inserted and threaded into the intersected area of the ribs A and B. This plate material mounting structure has drawbacks. Before installation, the glass plates C must be properly cut so that the pins E of the holding down plate F can be engaged into the longitudinal mounting grooves D1 and D2 of the ribs A and B. However, when installed, a gap C1 is left in between each two adjacent glass plates C. Further, the workers must do much effort to keep the glass plates, horizontally and vertically aligned during installation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is the main object of the present invention to provide a glass plate mounting structure, which eliminates the aforesaid drawbacks.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, the plate material mounting structure comprises a mounting frame, the mounting frame having a coupling unit extended sideways from one lateral sidewall thereof, the coupling unit having a horizontal top bearing wall, a horizontal bottom support wall, the horizontal top bearing wall having a downwardly extended front stop flange defining with the horizontal bottom support wall a coupling channel, a first plate material, a second plate material, and at least one retaining device fastened to the coupling unit to secure the first plate material to the lateral side wall of the mounting frame above the horizontal top bearing wall and the second plate material to the lateral side wall of the mounting frame below the horizontal support wall, the retaining device having a coupling rod extended from a back sidewall thereof and inserted in between the first plate material and the second plate material and hooked in the coupling channel of the mounting frame, the coupling rod having a guide head turned sideways and adapted to hook up with the downwardly extended front stop flange of the coupling unit.

[0008] According to another aspect of the present invention, the guide head of the coupling rod has a smoothly curved bottom protruded portion pressed against the downwardly extended front stop flange of the coupling unit of the mounting frame.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The present invention can be more fully understood by referring to the following description and accompanying drawing, in which:

[0010]FIG. 1A illustrates a plate material mounting structure according to the prior art;

[0011]FIG. 1B is an applied view of the prior art plate material mounting structure;

[0012]FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a plate material mounting structure according to the present invention;

[0013]FIG. 3 is an oblique backside view of the retaining device for the plate material mounting structure according to the present invention;

[0014]FIG. 4A is a front view showing the installation of the plate material mounting structure according to the present invention;

[0015]FIG. 4B is a sectional view of FIG. 4A;

[0016]FIG. 5A is a front view of the plate material mounting structure when installed; and

[0017]FIG. 5B is a sectional view of FIG. 5A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a plate material mounting structure in accordance with the present invention is shown comprising a mounting frame 1, and at least one retaining device 2.

[0019] The mounting frame 1 is a hollow member comprising a coupling unit 12 extended sideways from each of two opposite lateral sidewalls 11 thereof. The coupling unit 12 comprises a horizontal top bearing wall 13 and a horizontal bottom support wall 14 adapted to support two plate materials P1 and P2. The horizontal top bearing wall 13 has a downwardly extended front stop flange 15, which defines with the horizontal bottom support wall 14 a coupling channel 16.

[0020] The plate materials P1 and P2 can be single-layer plates, for example, glass plates, or double-layer or multi-layer plates formed by bonding a glass plate and at least one plastic sheet material together as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. The thickness of the plate materials P1 and P2 is greater than the coupling unit 12 so that the plate materials P1 and P2 can easily positively be secured to the mounting frame 1 with the retaining device 2.

[0021] The retaining device 2 is a flat member comprising a coupling rod 21 extended from the center of the back sidewall thereof adapted to engage into the coupling channel 16. The coupling rod 21 has a guide head 22 turned sideways. By means of the guide head 22, the coupling rod 21 can easily be inserted into the coupling channel 16.

[0022] The guide head 22 has a smoothly curved bottom protruded portion 23. When smoothly curved bottom protruded portion 23 touches the front stop flange 15, a holding down pressure is increased, causing the retaining device 2 and the corresponding lateral sidewall 11 of the mounting frame 1 to hold down the plate materials P1 and P2 firmly. In order to achieve a good contact between the retaining device 2 and the plate materials P1 and P2, an elastic member, for example, a rubber pad 3 is adhered to the back sidewall of the retaining device 2 around the coupling rod 21, and a packing member 24 is fixedly fastened to the back sidewall of the retaining device 2 around the elastic pad 3. Two handholds 25 is bilaterally provided at the front sidewall of the retaining device 2 for griping with the hands. An ornamental groove 26 is provided at the front sidewall of the retaining device 2 and extended to the handholds 25. By means of the ornamental groove 26, the worker can visually check if the retaining device 2 is maintained in horizontal with the coupling channel 16 or not.

[0023] Referring to FIGS. from 4A through 5B, during installation, the plate materials P1 and P2 are respectively put on the side of the bearing wall 13 and the bottom side of the support wall 14, and then the coupling rod 21 of the retaining device 2 is coupled to the coupling channel 16 (see FIGS. 4A and 4B). At this time, the worker holds the handholds 25 with the fingers and turns the retaining device 2 downwards through 90° to force the protruded portion 23 of the guide head 22 of the coupling rod 21 against the downwardly extended front stop flange 15. When turning the retaining device 2 downwards through 90° to force the protruded portion 23 of the guide head 22 of the coupling rod 21 against the downwardly extended front stop flange 15, the retaining device 2 is; forced to move the plate materials P1 and P2 toward the corresponding lateral sidewall 11 of the mounting frame 1, keeping the rubber pad 3 in close contact with the plate materials P1 and P2 (see FIGS. 5A and 5B), and therefore the plate materials P1 and P2 are positively secured to the mounting frame 1.

[0024] A prototype of plate material mounting structure has been constructed with the features of FIGS. 2 through 5. The plate material mounting structure functions smoothly to provide all of the features discussed earlier.

[0025] Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A plate material mounting structure comprising: a mounting frame, said mounting frame comprising a coupling unit extended sideways from one lateral sidewall thereof, said coupling unit comprising a horizontal top bearing wall, a horizontal bottom support wall, said horizontal top bearing wall having a downwardly extended front stop flange, said downwardly extended front stop flange defining with said horizontal bottom support wall a coupling channel; a first plate material; a second plate material; and at least one retaining device fastened to said coupling unit of said mounting frame to secure said first plate material to said lateral side wall of said mounting frame above said horizontal top bearing wall and said second plate material to said lateral side wall of said mounting frame below said horizontal support wall, said retaining device comprising a coupling rod extended from a back sidewall thereof and inserted in between said first plate material and said second plate material and hooked in said coupling channel of said mounting frame, said coupling rod having a guide head turned sideways and adapted to hook up with said downwardly extended front stop flange of said coupling unit of said mounting frame.
 2. The plate material mounting structure of claim 1 wherein said guide head of said coupling rod has a smoothly curved bottom protruded portion pressed against said downwardly extended front stop flange of said coupling unit of said mounting frame.
 3. The plate material mounting structure of claim 1 wherein said retaining device further comprises an elastic pad adhered to the back sidewall thereof and disposed in contact with said first plate material and said second plate material.
 4. The plate material mounting structure of claim 3 wherein said retaining device further comprises a packing member fixedly fastened to the back sidewall thereof around said elastic pad.
 5. The plate material mounting structure of claim 1 wherein said retaining device further comprises two handholds bilaterally disposed at a front sidewall thereof.
 6. The plate material mounting structure of claim 5 wherein said retaining device further comprises an ornamental groove disposed at the front sidewall thereof and connected between said handholds.
 7. The plate material mounting structure of claim 1 wherein said first plate material and said second plate material are single-layer plate materials.
 8. The plate material mounting structure of claim 1 wherein said first plate material and said second plate material are multi-layer plate materials.
 9. The plate material mounting structure of claim 1 wherein said first plate material and said second plate material are flat plates.
 10. The plate material mounting structure of claim 1 wherein said first plate material and said second plate material are block members. 